This article is for people with a VPS or a dedicated server with root access. On shared plans the panel is cPanel, and you neither choose nor install another one. The short answer: you do not pick a panel by its looks. You pick it with four questions: do you need a panel at all, which operating system it runs on, whether the server will handle e-mail, and who keeps it updated. And you decide before any site goes on the server, because a panel is installed on a freshly installed system, not on top of one that is already working. No panel is included with our VPS: managed or unmanaged VPS explains what comes with it and what is ordered separately.
The questions that decide
| Question |
Why it matters |
| Do you need a panel? |
A single site, run by someone who knows Linux, does fine without one: fewer parts, fewer open ports. Several sites, clients with their own logins or mailboxes created every week call for a panel. |
| Which operating system? |
The panel decides the system, not the other way round. Each panel publishes the systems it supports, and some run on one family only (Debian and Ubuntu only, or the Red Hat family only). Check the official list before you order or reinstall: which operating system to choose. |
| Will the server handle e-mail? |
Nearly every panel installs a mail server. Keeping mail on the VPS means looking after the IP’s reputation, reverse DNS, SPF and DKIM. It is often better to keep e-mail elsewhere: why a mail server on a VPS is hard. |
| Licence or free? |
cPanel, Plesk and DirectAdmin need a licence. HestiaCP, Virtualmin (in its free edition), CyberPanel and CloudPanel have free editions. Free does not mean no cost: the maintenance time is yours. |
| Who maintains it? |
On an unmanaged VPS, panel and system updates are yours. An outdated panel with its port open to the internet is one of the most sought-after ways in. |
| What resources are left? |
Panel, mail server, antivirus and database use memory before the first site opens. On a small VPS you will notice: out of memory on a VPS. |
Where things are: cPanel, Plesk and DirectAdmin
| Function |
In cPanel |
In Plesk and DirectAdmin |
| Site files |
File Manager, folder public_html |
Plesk: Files, folder httpdocs. DirectAdmin: File Manager, folder domains/<domain>/public_html. |
| E-mail accounts |
Email Accounts |
Plesk: Mail. DirectAdmin: E-Mail Manager. |
| Databases |
MySQL Databases and phpMyAdmin |
Plesk: Databases. DirectAdmin: MySQL Management. |
| DNS records |
Zone Editor |
Plesk: the domain’s DNS settings. DirectAdmin: DNS Management. |
| Scheduled tasks |
Cron Jobs |
Plesk: Scheduled Tasks. DirectAdmin: Cron Jobs. |
| Server administration |
WHM, a separate panel |
Plesk: Tools & Settings, in the administrator account. DirectAdmin: the Admin level, in the same interface. |
Names change with the version and the interface language. Look for the function, not a memorised name. The wider comparison is in cPanel, DirectAdmin or Plesk.
Before installing, in this order
| 1 |
Choose the panel first and the system second. Check in the panel’s official documentation that the system and version you have (or will ask for) are on the supported list.
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| 2 |
Check what the server has: in an SSH session, look at the system, processors, memory and free disk: cat /etc/os-release
nproc
free -h
df -h /
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| 3 |
Make sure the server is clean: if a web server, a database or another panel is already running, the installer may refuse or, worse, mix configurations. To see what is already listening: sudo ss -tlnp
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| 5 |
Take a snapshot or a backup first before running the installer, so there is somewhere to go back to: backing up a VPS.
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| 6 |
Once installed, change the administrator password, close the panel’s port in the firewall to anyone who does not need it, and switch on updates: keeping your VPS secure.
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One server, one panel. Two panels on the same system write to the same web server, DNS and mail configuration files, and each one undoes what the other did. To change panels, prepare a new server and move the sites to it.
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Want cPanel or Plesk on the VPS? Those need a licence and can be ordered separately, with a quote first, as explained in managed or unmanaged VPS. The free panels you install yourself, and questions about them are answered in each project’s documentation and community.
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Not sure which panel suits what you will run on the VPS? Tell us how many sites, whether they need e-mail and who will manage them.
Open a support ticket
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